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OTTAWA—As the end of seasons go — and the Maple Leafs have had some spectacularly painful finishes to seasons as of late — these last three weeks appear to have hurt the psyche of the team even more than last season’s Game 7 collapse against Boston did.

Game 82 — a 1-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night — had the feel of so many other losses: get outshot, get outplayed. It simply added to this 2-12-0 collapse, a finish that dropped the Leafs from a comfortable playoff perch — second in the Atlantic Division — to a top-10 pick in the draft.

“It’s almost like you get in a state of depression because it’s such a negative in your life,” said coach Randy Carlyle. “We’re embarrassed about the way things unraveled for our hockey club.”

At least last year there was a sense of optimism, with a playoff appearance under the belts of a young team and the fact they took a Stanley Cup finalist to overtime in Game 7.

“Losing to Boston was hard, but this was painful,” said defenceman Cody Franson. “We started playing some of our worst hockey the tighter it got. That’s not what good teams do.”

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This collapse raises far more questions: Is the young core good enough? Can lessons learned actually be applied? Does the team have the right coach?

“We’re going to let the dust settle a little bit and they’ll decide what is best for our team,” said Franson. “We’ve definitely got a lot of potential in this room. But for some reason we couldn’t nail down our defensive structure.”

The biggest change could well be the coach himself, who failed to convince his players to play defence while also seeming alienating James Reimer, the fan-favourite backup goalie with the big heart. GM Dave Nonis is expected to address the coaching situation sooner rather than later. Carlyle has one year left on his contract.

If Carlyle stays, it’s hard to see Reimer returning. Reimer dealt with the very real possibility he played his last game as a Leaf.

“I don’t know if I want to get into that,” he said after facing 37 shots. “I always dreamed I’d be a Leaf right from when I got drafted. Especially after my first season.

“All I want to do is be here and be the guy. Just thinking that might not be the case now brings a lot of emotions. It’s real unfortunate the way it’s turned out.”

Reimer was the goalie who got the Leafs to the playoffs last year. He lost his No. 1 job to Jonathan Bernier as Carlyle lost faith in him and their relationship deteriorated. When Bernier got hurt down the stretch, Reimer — like the Leafs in front of him — stumbled.

“I kind of know what went wrong,” said Reimer. “I don’t think there’s much to soul search. I know what kind of a goalie I am and what I need to do to be successful. Come next year I’ll be ready to go.”

A restricted free agent, Reimer wants to be a No. 1 somewhere, although his stock has fallen considerably. He was coy about whether the Leafs had any talks of an extension at any point in the season. But he said it is possible for him to return to the Leafs next year.

“Anything is possible,” said the goalie. “I know people have been talking. I’m sure management is thinking things. I’m sure agents have been thinking things. Honestly, there’s been some discussion here and there. There’s no point in discussing it. Whatever happens in the off-season happens.”

If there was a bright spot in the game, something for Leafs fans to grasp onto as hope, it was the play of defenceman Petter Granberg. While his skating seemed a tad below the NHL average, Granberg made his presence felt on the ice.

He took control of plays, directing his veteran teammates to gaps and opposition players they should be watching. He registered a few hits. He helped kill penalties.

And in the second period when the rest of the team got caught up ice, he stopped a 4-on-1, first by getting in the passing lane, then by sprawling to stop a shot.

“He’s a big guy who handles the puck,” said Carlyle. “The encouraging thing is he came in and was able to handle the situation.”

Prior to the game, as the Leafs got off the bus and paraded toward the visitors’ room at the Canadian Tire Centre, only one didn’t look like a dead man walking: Granberg. It didn’t matter to the 21-year-old Swede that it was Game 82 of another lost season.

“It felt good, but I would have wanted to win the game,” said Granberg. “The NHL is quicker and has better guys, that’s the biggest differences.”

For the number of injuries the Leafs had this season, very few were on the blue line. Mark Fraser missed some time before he was traded, but that was about it.

“We tried at various times of the year to access players who are the future of our hockey club,” said Carlyle. “We (wanted to) give him a little bit of a taste. It’s difficult when it’s the last game of the year. But I think it’s still important that a young player get a taste of the NHL.

“Every American league hockey team, that’s their main focus, develop young players, help young players get ready for the NHL … Our guys have done a very good job down there. They’ve had a winning record. They’ve had some veterans providing leadership, leading the way on and off the ice.”

Being tight to the cap, the Leafs didn’t have an opportunity to call up one of their promising young defencemen: Granberg, Andrew MacWilliam, Stuart Percy or fan-favourite T.J. Brennan.

Granberg started the season with John-Michael Liles and has played lately with Percy.

“It took a while to adjust to the (North American game),” said Granberg. “I feel I learned stuff with the Marlies, learning a lot every day, the small details in the game, the gaps.”

Peter Holland was also called up for the game, while Carl Gunnarsson (hip) was scratched. “Gunnarsson’s had all kinds of issues with his hip over the last month,” said Carlyle.

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